Hyderabad: Inside Secunderabad Railway Station, you are under watch. South Central Railway has 86 CCTVs scanning the over 80,000 passengers using travel and other services at the railway station a day.
This would not suffice, however, in view of the significant role played by footage from these CCTVs in solving various crimes, a recent one being the murder and rape of TCS techie Esther Anuhya.
Explained a senior divisional security officer at the railway station, “For all the 10 platforms, we have 86 cameras covering the entire passenger area. However, a few spaces remain uncovered. We have 21 days' storage capacity for the footage. Over five trained watchers are monitoring the passenger areas round-the-clock from the control room.”
In 2015, over 40 theft and missing luggage cases have been detected, based on camera footage. Once an incident is reported, the complainant is taken to the control room on the first floor. The footage of the area is shown to him/her to identify suspect, if any. Further, the CCTV grab of the suspect is taken and, with the help of the Modus Operandi database, the suspect is tracked. Mostly, the facial features are the key for identification of a criminal.
The railway station, it being the hub, has 10 platforms. The security staff includes RPF personnel, railway police and 60 additional home guards of Telangana Police. However, the numbers of cameras installed on each platform are not uniform. Platform number 1, 2, 3, 8, 9 and 10 have maximum number of cameras, while Platform 4, 5, 6 and 7 have lesser number of cameras.
“The installation of cameras was done based on the density of crowd. Platform 1, 2, 3, 8, 9 and 10 witness the maximum passenger traffic, while Platform 10 is crowded day and night because of the MMTS. Platform 4, 5, 6 and 7 witness less traffic as there is less of train movement. Even if more cameras are procured, the numbers installed at each of these will not be uniform. Crowded platforms will need more cameras,” he said.
There are two types of cameras fixed at the railway station. One is fixed cameras that cost '20,000 each, with a storage capacity of over 21 days with Megapixel 2 plus, and can view a distance of 60 feet - 20 metres. The second type is PTZs which rotate and have features like zoom and tilt. The imported ones cost '60,000 each, with high resolution. The PTZs are controlled by the train watchers.
“Around 63 fixed cameras and 23 PTZ cameras cover the entire station. The picture resolution is as per standard specifications,” added the SCR authorities.
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